Artillery weapons have been used for hundreds of years. These weapons have been continuously developed to improve accuracy, effectiveness, and efficiency. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,945,813; 6,024,007; and 6,595,103 disclose various designs for gun systems, all of which patents are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
When an artillery weapon is fired, the energy of the round must be absorbed by the weapon's structure and eventually transmitted to the ground. Modern artillery systems incorporate recoil mechanisms to modulate the forces associated with these firings to a level that can be effectively and reliably supported by the structure. With some recoil mechanisms, the energy of the round is dissipated by throttling fluid over the length of the recoil. The minimum level of this modulating force is directly proportional to the length of recoil.
In a soft recoil system, the recoiling parts are accelerated forward prior to the firing of the round by an internal gas spring. When the round is fired, nearly half of the energy of the round is used to stop the forward motion of the recoiling parts and the remaining energy is used to force the recoiling parts rearward, recompressing the gas spring. The recoiling parts are then captured by a latch in preparation for the next firing. This use of momentum exchange and energy conservation by the soft recoil technique results in recoil force reductions as high as 75% when compared to conventional recoil systems.
Although the soft recoil technique offers considerable advantages, there are some drawbacks associated with the cycle. Among these are: (1) A different run-up velocity is required for each of the different zones/charges being fired to maximize the benefits, (2) If the round fails to fire during the run up (known as a misfire), the buffing load required to bring the forward velocity of the recoiling parts to zero may be high enough to cause some weapon instability, and (3) If the round fires prematurely from the latch position (known as a “cookoff”), the conventional recoil-style buffer rearward of the latch point may induce sufficient forces to cause the weapon to slide rearward or become unstable.
ELEMENT DESCRIPTIONELEMENT #Soft recoil system 10Gun 12Base 14Actuator 16Barrel 20Breech 24First rail 28Second rail 30Rear yoke 32Middle yoke 34Forward yoke 36Latch point 36aMuzzle yoke 38Flange 39Tie rod 40First rail guide 50First recoil cylinder 51First recoil rod 52First forward end 53First recuperator 56Mounting bracket 57Crossover bracket 59Second rail guide 60Second recoil cylinder 61Second recoil rod 62Second forward end 63Recoil piston 64Lubricant groove 64aTransfer manifold 65Second recuperator 66Floating piston 67First recuperator chamber 68Second recuperator chamber 69Outer cylinder 71End seal 72Partition 74Port 75Forward outer chamber 77Rear outer chamber 78Inner cylinder 81Stuffing box 82Stop element 83Forward inner chamber 84Rear inner chamber 85First fluid passage 87Second fluid passage 88Third fluid passage 89Fourth fluid passage 90Fifth fluid passage 92Larger fluid passage 93Sixth fluid passage 94Check valve100Check valve fluid passage101Flange portion102Sleeve portion103First collar portion104Finger portion105Intermediate collar portion106Peripheral collar portion108Relief fluid passage108aCounter-recoil control system110Counter-recoil control valve112Control valve pivot point114Misfire recovery system130Misfire valve132Misfire valve flange132aMisfire valve sleeve132bMisfire valve fluid passage132cFirst barrier134Second barrier136Latch mechanism200Housing202Stop wall202aCrank aperture204Latch assembly aperture206Housing cover208Trip assembly bracket208aCover aperture208bCrank210Crank mount212Lever member213Crank arm214Rotational biasing member215Link220Link first end222Link second end224Trip assembly230Trip mount232Lever member engager234Bar236Latch assembly240Latch body241Latch assembly mount242Link connector243Plunger244Plunger face244aPlunger ramp244bBiasing member245